Focus

Do you realize that your resume’s main purpose is to secure an interview? I have heard of some talented persons who have received interview request in as little as 6 to 12 hours after posting their resume for the jobs that they desire. Do you know why this occurred? Simply because their resume displayed succinctly who they are and how they want to be perceived in the workplace. To win at communicating who you are and your perception on a resume, it is imperative that you understand these 2 things first of all:

#1 Identify your career interests, goals and objectives. This foundation will help you to know the type of position that you are seeking.

#2 Relate what you have done professionally and academically with what you want to do next? Yes, you must know what you want to do and then what the market place is seeking.

Now you must tie these 2 ideas into a neat, strategic plan on your resume to showcase your unique marketable value.

It is vital that your resume is physically attractive and content rich, laden with skills, accomplishments and evidence of how you solve companies PAIN.

#1 Sell your skills – don’t tell me. Show those who view your resume the power in your past jobs, interns, community service activities, and academic trainings. Use an action work to start and add value using #’s, $, and % of success. Did you direct, manage, coordinate, help a cross-cultural group of persons, help raise $ for a charitable event, or work independently to complete a project? Sell your skills in this manner.

#2 Know the keywords that are a part of your profession. Use them. If you don’t know them, then try to go to the occupational outlook handbook and look them up. Better yet, look up job leads and note the frequently used words in the job description. Each professional area has its own distinctive set of commonly used words.

#3 Focus your resume on the big accomplishments and not the little things. We can imagine that you can do the job, but we need to know how you made a difference in the things that you have done. For example, “Did you supervise in a way that saved revenue, increased profits or saved time?” “Did you streamline procedures to help the team meet their goals?”

#4 Eliminate all confusion on your resume. Make it as easy as possible for hiring officials and search committees to read your resume quickly. Check your format, grammar, punctuation, and style on your resume. Make the information easy to find. Add the most important information at the beginning of the sentence if possible. Be consistent in the way that information is displayed.

And by the way, the above picture is a group of stellar, award-winning, dynamic career professionals recognized at the 2013 Career Directors Conference for service and unique contributions to the industry. See http://careerdirectors.com/ for more information on how they can assist you with your executive career communications.

Even though you see a group of top resume writers in the country, there are no resume writing rules. And this challenge may lend itself to many different ideas about content, style, format, or delivery in resume writing. However the one consistent theme that we can all agree on is that all good resumes that seek to win over interviews should be consistent and persistent in their delivery.

Share with us how you have managed to make your resumes perception consistent? I’d love to know what you think. And If you can’t say it Let Me Write It For You.

Ask for our free welcome kit and book called Is Your Resume Like An Ole Dinosaur. Cheers, Debra Ann

The purpose of a resume is to get you an invitation to discuss how your skills fit the needs of your future employer. You are encouraged to focus. F is for Find. O is or optimize. C is for choose. U is for utilize. S is for skills.